When I looked you in the eyes
by TheBackstagePass
Summary: Gabriella Montez has just suffered a hard break-up. Could a pair of blue eyes help her through the pain? Troyella.
1. Walk Away

**S**he could tease him forever and never get tired of it. He could stare into her beautiful chocolate orbs and never get tired of drowning in them. It was obvious to anyone with half a brain that they were madly in love with each other. So why do the pair insist on hating each other? Because, their silly madly-in-love college students who have no idea how to tell each other their feelings for each other. And so, their story begins.

--

**11:58 p.m Taylor's B-day Party  
**_I blame it all on Kelly Clarkson. _Because until that song came on I was fine. _Fucking Dandy_. So what if I hadn't seen Nate since the memorable night I'd walked in on him kissing someone else two and a half weeks ago, which was seventeen total days, not that _I _was counting? So what if he was supposed to be my boyfriend. And so fucking what if the girl he was kissing was none other than Lindsay Greer, my freshman-year roommate way back when, who until that fateful night I'd thought _valued _our shared history and mutual exasperation enough to consider me a close friend-the sort of close friend who would find my boyfriend to be off-limits?  
Seriously I was _fine_.  
I took a deep breath, and told myself that I didn't care _in the slightest _that Nate and Lindsay had just swept inside the club together, looking flushed and giddy and bringing with them a swirl of cold weather from the fall night beyond. I didn't care that every single one of our mutual friends, all of whom were gathered to celebrate Tay's birthday, looked from the two of them to me to gauge my reaction. I didn't care that my heart-which I would have told you had broken into pieces too small to be seen by the naked eye and thus couldn't possibly break any further-thumped painfully in my chest, clearly whole enough to keep hurting.

If I burst into tears, I would never forgive myself.

I was so busy trying trying to look as if I didn't care and wasn't close to tears, in fact, that Shar had to kick me under the table to get me to notice that she and Zeke had returned from the bar, bearing armfuls of drinks.

"Stop staring at them," Sharpay ordered.

"It's _fine_," I told her, which was surprisingly hard to do through a clenched jaw. "After all, who cares that we were together for almost four months now after knowing each other since high-school? Who cares about _history_? I'm_ perfectly fine _with this."  
Sharpay sighed and exchanged what I could only describe as a _significant look_ with Zeke. Then, she and Zeke settled themselves on either side of me on the plush banquette. In support. Or possibly to restrain me.  
The two of them were a perfect example of the whole _opposites attract _thing. I thought, looking at them through the big mirror on the wall. Shar looked crisp and pulled together at all times, while Zeke always looked as if he stepped off a skateboard. They'd met in dental school and fallen in love, apparently over molars. It was to their credit that I found that story romantic despite long-held dental phobia.  
Sharpay slid a beer in front of me.  
"Listen up, Gabriella," she ordered me. Her use of my full, legal name-which I hated and therefore generally responded to only in places like the DMV-earned her a baleful glare.  
But I listened.

"I get why you want him," she said. "Everybody adores Nate. He's practically made a career out of being adorable."

"I don't think he's adorable," Zeke said from my other side. " Not that he's _not_ adorable, of course. I just don't think about it."

"I think I even had a crush on him for like fifteen seconds in high-school," Sharpay continued, ignoring her boyfriend. "How could you not? He was the captain of the football team. Those puppy-dog eyes and that bashful smile."

"Yeah, that's really adorable," Zeke retorted. "Let's talk more about his rugged good looks, so maybe I can have a crush on him, too.

Sharpay had all the delicacy of a steamroller. I assumed this served her well in dentistry, but tonight it made me want to upend a drink over her head.

"'Puppy dog eyes and that bashful smile'?" I echoed. I glared at her. "Why do you want to hurt me?"

"But here's the thing," Sharpay said as if I hadn't spoken. "You've known the guy since we were all sixteen and only hooked up with him this summer. That's hardly raging-hot chemistry, now is it?"

"He hasn't been girlfriend free since senior year!" I protested. "He was with that horrible Lisa for years!"

"I'm just saying it took you an awfully long time to get together with him," Shar said. "Okay, sure, you liked him more than the weirdos you usually date, but still." She took a sip of her drink, which unaccountably, appeared to be coke. I scowled at it, and she muttered something about designated driving.

As that was normally Zeke's job, I looked at him.

"I plan to drink alot tonight," Zeke told me, his eyes across the bar on the happy couple. "I might toast Nate's _bashful smile_ a few times, too."

Since he was staring at Nate, I gave myself permission to do the same. I watched as Nate peeled off his winter coat and exchanged manly handshakes with his buddies. I watched as Lindsay floated merrily on the end of his arm like a particularly well-tweezed balloon.  
Seventeen days had not dimmed even a little bit of the hurt, it turned out, despite several bold proclamations to the contrary I'd made in the shower earlier that evening. If Taylor, the birthday girl, hadn't called me personally and begged me to come, there was no way I would have attended this party. It had been bad enough to stand there that night two and a half weeks ago, face-to-face with the evidence that he and Lindsay were on kissing terms. Sitting in a crowded club with half of Los Angeles looking on as I was humiliated with every snuggle and simper was, it turned out, worse.  
Much worse.

Nate and I first met years ago when we both attended East High. We became members of a wider group of friends who fell into two rough and interwoven groups themselves: those who had originally gone to East High together and others who had met thanks to summers spent on BU. We all became one big group of people who were loosely connected and spread out across the greater L.A. metropolitan area, leading to a rollicking social life with competing parties almost every weekend.

And in this big group, Nate was the favorite. Everyone loved Nate. He was so good-looking and sweet-faced in high-school that some girls (who will remain nameless) had been known to lurk around his bushes to take pictures of him on the sly. He was also nice, which was so suprising it often stopped people in their tracks. He was sweet to everyone, universally considered cute, and, unfortunately, taken. Girls mooned over him and treasured the intimate conversations they had with him every now and again over beers when his girlfriend was somewhere else. Guys pounded him about the shoulder when they met him and thereafter, inevitably, called him "solid." Everyone loved Nate from afar until he'd finally broken up with Longtime Lisa (as she was known) for the last time in April.  
The month of May was like the first season of _Desperate Housewifes_, with all the girls playing Edie and Susan to Nate's Mike the Plumber, in a pitched battle to soothe his broken heart. Sharpay and our other best friend, Taylor, took bets and predicted-accurately-that it would all end in rebound tears.  
By the time Nate and I hooked up at a Fourth of July party, I figured we were out of his rebound woods. I'd been waiting for Nate for a long time. Shar had a point about the guys I dated throughout high-school- commitment-allergic "musicians" and future banker boys had been my specialties, and I was over them. More than that, Nate and I were a good match. Even an obvious match. I might not have the kind of irritating (to other women) bland attractiveness that girls like Longtime Lisa had, but I felt I was cute enough. More to the point, we all had the same friends. We liked the same things. We'd even lived in the same freshman dorm. I liked the story we could tell about how, once upon a time back in college before he'd fully committed to Longtime Lisa, he and I almost kissed outside Sicilia's Pizza at 3:30 a.m.

Anyway back to Kelly Clarkson, before some not so nice thoughts about a certain blonde balloon, who is currenty sucking the face of the man who should have been mine, but isn't, start to leak out. I had downed about 3-4 beers already and was really feeling giddy and happy, despite the weird looks Zeke and Shar were throwing at me from time to time. But then an all too familiar song started to play and I was really in my zone. Before, Shar or Zeke could hold me back I was out of the booth and walking over towards where Nate and Lindsay were happily cuddling and whispering sweet nothings into each others ears. _If you don't have the answer, just walk away. _And soon, Ladies and Gentlemen the words were not just inside my head. Standing on a table in front of the happy couple I started shaking my rump and singing with enough force to view a couple of nearby patrons covering their ears. But did I care, _no_. Until I felt another burst of cold air tickle the hairs on my arm. I turned around, out of curiousity, and my breath hitched in my throat. What I saw I'm not even sure I could give it justice, the most incredible pair of blue eyes I have ever seen in my life. _Oh my god. _

**A/N: **_Well this was definately fun to write. And yes, it is very long. A bit of a cliff at the end but, i'll make up for it in the next chapter, review, so I can know who's actually interested in this story!_


	2. Love In this Club

_Damn I need to blow off some stress. _I thought as I paid the taxi driver the amount of money he pointed to on the meter. _Shit, who in the hell invented cell-phones._ I thought as I dug the contraption out of my pocket. "Talk to me."

"Dude, where the hell are you? I'm already inside the club." My bestfriend Chad asked impatiently. "Man, chill. I'm right outside the spot." My nerves were running low, and I really wasn't in the mood for a chewing out with Chad. "Alright, Troy." Chad said lastly before hanging-up in a haste. Saying I had a bad day would be in understatement, to say I had a bad week would be an understatement. If you said I had a bad life, well, then we'd be talking. I'm a twenty-one fucking years old college student with no money, due to paying book fees, that just broke up with their fucking girlfriend of five fucking years. I'm tired of being the nice guy to everyone, I'm tired of acting as if nothing affects me. It's about time I let loose.

**12:45 a.m. Lucky's Night Lounge  
**The outside of this place is packed. Hell, more than packed, a fucking jungle. _Figures Chad would pick a spot that had to be filled with crazy L.A. college students, ready to get wasted out of their minds. _I definetely was not in the mood to go in here, but I wasn't in the mood to haul down another taxi, especially not in this weather. Walking up to where the bouncers were I pulled out my i.d. from my back pocket. Getting a nod from the dark, bald guy at the door I stepped inside sending in a cold wift of air. Letting my hair fall onto my right eye I looked up, my blue eyes met chocolate brown. All thoughts of being pissed at the world were completely forgotten. _Damn. Damn. Damn. Who the hell- _My thoughts were cut off as Chad tapped my shoulder dragging me towards the bar area, where a perky blonde was laughing obnoxiously next to a man with light brown hair. I scowled turning towards Chad. "What's got your boxers in a bunch, Bolton?" He asked, clearly phased by my mood. "Were here to let off some steam, get a little drunk, possibly even get some ass. You know, your not very attractive looking with your face scrunched up that way." I sighed. Of course Chad's mind would be on one thing and one thing only, S-E-X. "Chad, you know I'm not in the mood for women right now. It's still too soon." I said as my hand involuntarily reached to the back of my neck, causing my shirt to rise slightly, giving a preview of tanned abs. "Man, it's been what, two months, at first I was letting it slide...but now I think it's time for you to hear something, MOVE ON!" Chad said shouting a little in my ears so he could be heard over the loud music.

--

"Gabriella?" Nate asked in shock as I slid off of the table and straightened out my shirt. From my periphial vision I could see Lindsey smirking. I imagined myself flicking her off. "Uh..yeah, It's me Gabriella, in case you've forgotten." I said rolling my eyes. "Can we talk?" Nate asked, concern and pity dripping from his voice. "I guess so." Nate guided me towards a more discreet area. "Look Gabi, Gabriella, umm..I really think it's time you, you know, moved on..." I stared at him in shock. _Was he fucking serious?_ _He wants me to fucking move on. _I blinked back tears that were threatening to fall down my cheeks. _Did I really look that desperate? I mean we can't all be like bounce back Nate. We can't all go behind a loved ones back and suck the faces off of their friends. _"Yeah sure N-Nate, if that's what you really want." I said as I felt a warm dampness begin to caress down my cheek. "Yeah, that's what I want." He replied clearly not catching on to my bleeding heart. _Dumbass._ "Nate hurry up, I miss you." Lindsey's whiny voice shouted from across the bar. "Look Gabriella, I'll talk to you later?" He half questioned half announced as he hurriedly rushed back to Lindsey. Lindsey Greer. Lindsey big, fat, and ugly Greer. _Dumbass. _He'd see what he was missing and come running back to me sooner or later. _Right? _I rushed to the ladies room as I felt my mascara beginning to run.

--

"I'm so, so, sorry. Here I'll buy you a new drink on me man." I reached for a nearby napkin as I began dabbing at the spillage on my dark-wash jeans. "Dude, It's fine, really." I said for what had to be the millionth time. "I'll just go get cleaned up in the bathroom. Have a nice night." I hurriedly said to rush off towards the restroom before the man could bombard me with anymore apoligies. _Shit. Today is definetely not my day. _As I tripped over drunk and babbling college students I finally spotted the men's restroom sign. _I am never going to a club with Chad again._ I bumped into a small figure and quickly grabbed at it to prevent us from both tumbling over. It was her. "Umm..Hey." I said as we both recovered from the trip. She was even more beautiful up close, and with mascara running down her cheeks.

--

It was him, beautiful blue eyes. "Hey," I replied my face breaking into a grin. _Shit. I have mascara dripping from my cheeks._


End file.
